Red Sapphire: The Woman Who Beat the Blacklist

by Julia Bricklin

In 1950, facing artistic and legal persecution by Senator Joe McCarthy because of her inclusion on Louis Budenz’s list of four hundred concealed communists, single mother Hannah Weinstein fled to Europe. There, she built a television studio and established her own production company, Sapphire Films, then surreptitiously hired scores of such blacklisted writers as Waldo Salt, Ian McLellan Hunter, Adrian Scott, and Ring Lardner Jr., and “Trojan-horsed” democratic ideals back to the United States through more than three hundred half-hours of programming, making a fortune in the process. With the exception of a French producer, no other woman on the continent was creating television content at this time, and Weinstein was the only one who was head of her own studio. Before she became one of the more powerful independent production forces in 1950s British television, Hannah Weinstein had a distinguished career as a journalist, publicist, and left-wing political activist. She worked for the New York Herald Tribune from 1927, then began a career in politics when she joined Fiorello H. La Guardia’s New York mayoral campaign in 1937. She also organized the press side of the presidential campaigns of Franklin D. Roosevelt and later (in 1948) of Henry Wallace. Using declassified FBI and CIA files, interviews, and the personal papers of blacklisted writers and other sources, Red Sapphire depicts how for the better part of a decade, Weinstein was a leader in the Left’s battle with the Right to shape popular culture during the Cold War . . . a battle that she eventually won.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Politics, Biography

256 pages, Hardcover

Published September 5, 2023

Reviews

[Pat Wahler · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fascinating story about a woman I previously had never known about. Hannah Weinstein was a political activist, who, during the height of McCarthyism, created a production company that launched the television series The Adventures of Robin Hood (a show I watched faithfully as a young child). Weinstein hired scriptwriters for the show that had to use pseudonyms because they had been blackballed. These writers would otherwise have been unemployable.
I found the book to be a readable and entertaining account of one woman's courageous crusade against the discrimination of the McCarthy era. Highly recommended!

[Nancy Cole Silverman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fans of historical fiction may want to add Julia Bricklin to their list of favorite authors. Her newest book, RED SAPPHIRE, the Woman Who Beat the Blacklist, is a well-researched, informative, and inspiring piece of work about Hannah Weinstein, journalist, activist, single mother, and one of Louis Budenz’s list of four hundred concealed writers and actors. With the doors closing around her, Weinstein fled to Europe, where she established a television studio and Sapphire Films, a successful production company that provided opportunities for banned creatives with more than three hundred hours of popular programming during the Cold War to American television networks.

Readers who enjoy learning about women who have overcome the odds, and established themselves as leaders and thinkers in businesses that ordinarily didn’t embrace women in the room, have Bricklin to thank for rekindling Hannah Weinstein’s story. Were it not for Bricklin’s due diligence—hours of combing through declassified CIA and FBI files and knocking on closed doors—much of what is known about Weinstein’s efforts to find work for those silenced voices might not be known today.

[E W · Rating 4 out of 5]

I highly recommend this book. I was not familiar with Hannah Weinstein, whose clever, elaborate, and wildly successful European operation to produce early television content and employ writers blacklisted for Communism in the U.S. (as well as thousands of British workers) is fascinating. Through this crisp, well-researched, and artful book, I also learned many things about the early development of television itself. Weinstein created and seized a remarkable opportunity that helped many talented people who otherwise would have been destitute, but unfortunately in the end, she was herself the victim of further abrupt shifts in television’s advancement (as well as a complete disaster of a second husband). But she remained resourceful and resilient, returning her attention to her original work of advancing progressive political candidates and anti-war causes. Then, in her final act, with Ossie Davis, she created Third World Cinema Corporation to increase opportunities for Blacks and Puerto Ricans in the film industry, first producing a movie starring James Earl Jones and Diahann Carole and later producing Greased Lightening (Richard Pryor and Pam Grier) and Stir Crazy, directed by Sidney Portier and until recently “the most successful film made by a black director.” The one odd note in the book is an absence—there are hardly any references to obstacles Weinstein would have encountered in the 1940s, 50s, and beyond as a women in the entertainment business and political world. It would have been interesting to know Weinstein’s perspective on that. But still, I was happy to learn what I did about the woman Lillian Hellman referred to as “the only person in the world Joe McCarthy was afraid of.”

[Jess Hennessey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an advanced copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I had never heard of Hannah prior to this book so I was intrigued by the premise. I love a strong woman who isn't afraid to work in traditional male dominated fields and make an impact. Hannah's production company launched the television series "The Adventures of Robin Hood" which was broadcasted in the UK, US and Canada. She hired writers who had been black listed in the US due to their communist beliefs and/or connections to the party. The FBI followed Hannah's movements for years and had quite the dossier on her. I loved learning how they created the show Robin Hood and all the work that went into it. Hannah was a resilient and resourceful woman. I would recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of historical fiction.

[Jim Fusilli · Rating 5 out of 5]

For those like me who thought they knew much about the dark period in American history of McCarthyism, HUAC and Hoover's overreach, Julia Bricklin and "Red Sapphire" proves there's always more to know. Her character Hannah Dorner Weinstein was at or near the center of most activities to thwart the suppression of political thought and discourse. It seems there was no one she did not know and no task was too daunting. The tale takes a fascinating twist when Weinstein turns her attention to TV, becoming a producer behind a popular program with an intended subliminal effect. Though it has the sweep of a novel, Bricklin tells the story as history, thus surprising us when it takes an unexpected turn. Highly recommended.

[Malcolm Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A couple of years ago,Darren Nesbit,then a bit part actor in the Sapphire series went to see her to get a raise.Her response was "You wanna be in the next series"He told us "She was a tough cookie"
It is a testament to Weinstein that every Saturday morning Robin Hood is shown on TPTV and it is every bit as entertaining as when I first saw it in 1955.
I wasn't so interested in her political background but I found the main section on Sapphire films to be fascinating

[Perri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoroughly researched, this book inspires with the story of a woman who was utterly determined to leave her mark and make the best of challenging times. The first quarter or so was a bit tough to follow, there are so many different characters and organizations. But eventually Hannah hits her stride and the reader will too.

[David Lester · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had never heard of Hannah Weinstein and her activism and innovation in the development of television. Julia Brickin has written a compelling book of culture, history and politics against the backdrop of the horrid blacklist and repression of artists.

[Plum · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well-researched tale of Hannah Weinstein and the blackisted writers of the 50s.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is interesting and very informative. It is a bit dense and took a bit for me to connect with the content.

[AveryM · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quick read and interesting look at one woman's journey through the tumultuous period of the Red Scare, the struggles of many maligned artists, and the beginning of commercialized television.

[Lily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bricklin brings the life of a fascinating woman from the golden age of television to life in this new biography. Hannah Weinstein, a single mother facing artistic and legal threats at the height of McCarthyism, relocated to the United Kingdom, where she employed other blacklisted creatives for her production company, eventually going on to produce hundreds of hours of television as one of the few women in the television industry. Bricklin traces Weinstein’s incredible career over the middle of the twentieth century and introduces her readers to this fascinatingly capable and unstoppable creative force who had such an impact on the European television industry in the face of the Red Scare of the 1950s. Bricklin lays out the context of Weinstein’s life in clear detail, introducing readers to interwar communist organizing and the rise of the television entertainment industry after World War II, all of which centers Weinstein into a larger historical narrative. Bricklin’s biography of this fascinating female pioneer further expands the existing historical narrative around McCarthyism and the Red Scare to include blacklisted women and the larger repercussions on the entertainment industry, and Bricklin does so in an engaging authorial style over an accessible and engrossing biography.

Thanks to NetGalley, Gloe Pequot, and Lyons Press for the advance copy.